Emmy Awards Adding Online Voting Option for 2014, 2015

An online voting option for Television Academy members is coming to the 2014 and 2015 Emmy Awards.

Chairman and CEO Bruce Rosenblum said Friday that the Academy is initiating a two-year, two-step transition to online voting, beginning with the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards season. The paper method will stick around during the period, and only the initial rounds will move online for next year’s nominees.

In 2015, online voting will be extended to all rounds of Television Academy’s Emmy voting process, determining nominees and winners in all categories.

The Television Academy contracted San Diego-based Everyone Counts, which has handled a number of national voting contests, to deploy the two-year online voting rollout for the Primetime Emmy Awards.

In a recent survey, 70 percent of the Academy’s voting members indicated they would prefer to vote digitally, online, the Television Academy said. The Television Academy has more than 16,300 eligible voting members.

“This is the first in a series of new initiatives for the Academy that will be rolling out over the coming months,” Rosenblum said. “We refine the Emmy Awards process every year, and this migration to an all-digital, online voting procedure will ensure that voting is easy, private and secure. This is all part of our ongoing mission to activate greater member engagement, to inspire and help our members develop their professional potential, and to bring new and long-established voices within the television community together to continue to chart a bold path for our industry.”